The Ideal.—It is as impossible to describe a successful solution of the problems of any particular school as it is to paint the lily, the rose, or the rainbow. All are equally indescribable and intangible, but nevertheless the more real, potent, and inspiring on that account. Such a situation means the presence of a strong life, a strong mind, and a strong hand exemplifying ideals every day. This is education, this is growth, this is real life.
[2] Psychology and Social Sanity, p. 82.
CHAPTER IX
THE RURAL SCHOOL CURRICULUM
Imitation.—There are two processes by which all progress is attained, namely, imitation and invention. Imitation is found everywhere, in all spheres of thought and of action. Children are great imitators, and adults are only children grown up. Imitation, of course, is a necessary thing. Without it no use could be made of past experience. When it conserves and propagates the good it is to be commended; but the worthless and the bad are often imitated also. As imitation is necessary for the preservation of past experience, so invention is equally essential in blazing new paths of thought and of action. It is probably true that all persons are more prone to imitation than to invention.
The Country Imitates the City.—The rural schools have always imitated the city schools, as rural life attempts to imitate city life. Many of the books used in rural schools have been written largely with city conditions in mind and by authors who have been city bred or city won. These books have about them the atmosphere and the flavor of the city. Their selections as a rule contain references and allusions without number to city life, and give a cityward bent; their connotation and attitude tend to direct the mind toward the city. As a consequence even school textbooks have been potent aids in the urban trend.
Textbooks.—It is not urged that the subject matter of textbooks be made altogether rural in its applications and references. The books should not be completely ruralized; nor should there be two sets of books, one for the country and one for the city. But there should be a more even balance between the city aspect and the rural aspect of textbooks, whether used in the country or in the city. If some of the texts now used were rewritten with the purpose of attaining that balance, they would greatly assist the curriculum in both country and city schools. There is no reason why city children should not have their minds touched by the life, the thought, and the activities of the country; and it is granted that country children should be made conscious and cognizant of the life, the thought, and the activities of the city. There is no more reason why textbooks should carry the urban message, than that they should be dominantly ruralizing.